Mother Reaches Out To New Moms Battling Postpartum Depression
POSTED: Thursday, July 26, 2007
UPDATED: 6:36 pm EDT July 26,
2007
For Christine Hughes, the problems began while she was pregnant with her third child."It was just kind of an anxious feeling in my gut that things weren't right," Hughes said.After her third daughter was born, Hughes found herself feeling anxious and overwhelmed. She said she felt disassociated from the baby."We didn't name her for several days," Hughes explained. "The birth certificate people would come in several times, and I was like 'I don't know, I'm not ready, I don't know what her name is.'"Hughes and her husband eventually decided to name their third daughter Ava.Home from the hospital, Hughes said she felt worse instead of better. By the time Ava was 3 months old, Hughes was barely eating and rarely sleeping."I started thinking, I'm just unreasonable because I'm not sleeping. If I could just get some sleep, then I would be reasonable. And then I would cope."A month later, an observant doctor diagnosed Hughes with postpartum depression.According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, about 10 percent of new moms experience postpartum depression. The initial symptoms can include anxiety, sadness, irritability, crying, headaches, exhaustion, and a sense of inadequacy. Left untreated, women may also experience fatigue, a lack of joy, emotional numbness, a sense of failure, and insomnia.In extreme cases, new mothers can develop postpartum pyschosis. That's a rare condition that may cause thoughts of wanting to harm yourself or your baby, hallucinations, and paranoia.Thanks to appropriate treatment, Hughes is now able to enjoy being a mom again. She wishes she had reached out for help sooner."It's not your fault. The biggest failure or harm you can do to your family is to not get help," Hughes said. "It is very courageous to go and ask for help. It took me time to realize that, that it's not a weakness."An avid runner, Hughes has organized an annual charity run to raise funds for the Post Partum Depression Support Group of Ann Arbor."If we affect one family and help one person get better," Hughes said, "then we've made a difference."To find more information about the 3rd Annual Pounding Pavement & Dirt for Post Partum Depression Run/Walk, go to: http://cantonconnection.fcstorm.net/To learn more about the Post Partum Depression Support Group of Ann Arbor, go to: www.ppd-annarbor.orgTo learn more about the Tree of Hope Foundation in St. Clair Shores, go to: www.treeofhopefoundation.org
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